Glasses
by ApparentlyCRAZY
Summary: Karen Smith had a story all her own. An epic love story that started with a pair of thick rimmed black plastic glasses, continued with cotton candy clouds, and ended with rabbit eared hooligans. A love story that can only be told in a series of drabbles.
1. Chapter 1

Karen watched curiously as the boy tripped yet again, falling flat onto his face with a whimper and a dull thud. She frowned in thought as the children around her laughed and narrowed her eyes in concentration. Was the boy in front of her really that funny? Karen didn't think so. She thought Snoopy was much funnier. His dance always made her laugh though she always fell down when she tried to do it herself. Kind of like the blond boy just did. She tilted her head further and she watched as the boy struggled to stand and pushed his thick black glasses further onto his nose. Karen carefully observed the tape wrapped around the bridge and she felt her ear rest on her shoulder as her head titled further. What was the tape for? Was it lucky?

Karen watched as Tommy Markonson grabbed the boy's glasses from his face and tossed them to her first cousin Seth. Seth laughed as he tossed them across the room to Jeffy Peterson who purposely dropped them on the floor, making a rather rude face as he did so. Karen frowned further as the boy squinted at the air in front of him, his greenish-blue eyes staring at a tree as if trying to solve a mystery. What did that tree ever do to him? Then it dawned on Karen. He couldn't see! Just like Gran when she forgets where she left her glasses! Karen lifted her head and stared determinedly at the pair of thick rimmed glasses flying overhead. She made a quick hop and caught them before they passed her, and then turned to blink at them in surprise. She never ever caught anything ever when it came to games! Why could she catch glasses? Karen's eyes widened as it dawned on her. Maybe she could only catch glasses. Karen thought about that for a moment before deciding that seemed plausible. She would definitely practice when she got home.

"Karen!"

Karen lifted her head and blinked blankly at her cousin. He held his hand out, palm up towards the sky. Karen wrinkled her brow as she gave him her free hand. "Seth!" She shouted just as eagerly as he had. Seth looked confused for a moment but didn't have a chance to fully think about what the hell his cousin Karen was doing now. She was already gone in a breeze of flowers and strawberries.

Karen walked purposefully to the blond boy in the middle of the circle of fourth graders before stopping only inches from him. She watched him jerk away from her and cocked her head in confusion. Why was he scared? Karen didn't think she was particularly scary.

Karen stared at the boy for a moment, watching his blue-green eyes dart this way and that nervously. She gently reached out and brushed his long messy hair from his eyes, completely oblivious to the way his body stiffened. Karen stared mesmerized for a few moments before carefully slipping the thick glasses onto his face.

"You have pretty eyes." Karen said softly as she held his face between her palms, keeping his eyes steady so she could stare properly into them. "They're like the ocean."

The boy blinked blankly before swallowing hard and speaking slowly.

"Uh…thank you?"

XoX This is the first chapter in a small series of dribbles so please tell me what you think


	2. Chapter 2

Karen lay silently, staring up at the blue sky above her. She blinked slowly as she began to create shapes among the clouds. Her head cocked to the side slowly despite the grass underneath it. She turned her head completely to face her friend beside her.

"Kyle?"

She watched as the boy practically jumped out of his skin, fumbling with the thick book that had been dropped from his hands. Karen frowned in confusion. She really didn't believe she was that scary.

"Y-yes Karen?" Kyle asked as he turned nervously to face her from his spot against the tree trunk. Karen's frown deepened as she turned back to the sky.

"What are clouds?" She asked.

Kyle glanced up at the sky as if noticing it for the first time. "They're dust particles clinging to evaporated water called condensation. When they gather too much water then they release it, making precipitation like rain or snow or hail."

Karen raised her eyebrows in surprise. They weren't made of white cotton candy?

"Kyle?" Karen turned over onto her stomach as she stared at the boy, her head cocked slightly to the side.

"Yes Karen?" Kyle said nervously as he gingerly placed his book on his lap.

"Do you know everything?" She asked curiously as she stared at him. Karen watched in confusion as Kyle sputtered and blushed deep red. Was he sick? Karen's eyes widened as it dawned on her. Was he chocking? Karen's mouth fell open at the thought. She didn't know CPR! She looked frantically at her surroundings. Where were the pretty Baywatch people? Weren't they supposed to come when situations like this happened?

"N-n-n-n-no I-I…I don't know everything. I don't e-even know that much!"

Karen cocked her head further and frowned.

"Yes you do. You know babies don't come from the pelican birds," if possible Kyle blush deepened though Karen could not imagine why. "And what colors make green. You know all the answers to Miss. Jenkin's questions in class and you even know how to spell tomorrow!" Karen looked at Kyle seriously. "Hardly anyone knows how to spell tomorrow. You know everything."

Kyle blushed and sputtered for a few more moments and Karen wondered if this was normal for him. Maybe he was having an eczema attack?

"I-I don't!" Kyle protested but Karen had stopped listening. She turned back onto her back to stare at a particularly pretty cloud in the shape of a bunny.

"Kyle?"

"…Yes Karen?"

Karen looked up at him from her spot on the floor and frowned. "You're upside down."

Kyle smiled, something he almost never did. It was a little half smile that Karen was sure that only she ever got to see. Karen was confused as to why Kyle didn't smile more. She was sure he'd have a lot more friends if he did.

"No, you are Karen." Kyle said softly. Karen frowned deeper and reverted her eyes back up the sky above.

"Oh."


	3. Chapter 3

"I want to be a doctor."

Karen stared at Kyle, her best friend for four months. His hair was as messy as ever, the color a little blonder because of the sun. His thick glasses were rimming his pretty green blue eyes which were lit with excitement, something that hardly happened.

"A doctor?"

Kyle nodded eagerly. "A doctor for animals. Not just pets either! I want to be a doctor for all animals! Animals in the rainforests, animals in the sea, everything! I want to be able to help all of them! I want to have the ability to cure an elephant in Africa and then go and nurse a whale off the Australian coast back to health only to go and bring a stray dog in New York back from malnutrition! I want to be able to…to…help! You know?"

Karen blinked and cocked her head to the side. Kyle was never like this. He was usually quiet unless she asked a question and he had never smiled like this before. With all his teeth showing and crinkles at the corners of his eyes.

"Do you like animals?" Karen asked slowly. Kyle grinned wider and nodded. Karen thought he looked like a bobble head.

"More than people! Animals are fascinating, they have stronger instincts and senses then us yet they haven't given into the habits that we have. They have stuck to their roots and yet they continue to adapt! While humans have created pollution and damaged the world animals have done nothing but contributed to it! Yet here we are hunting them down and destroying their habitats! Did you know that there used to be a whole forest where the school is right now? Think of how many little critters had to die or find new homes just because people were too lazy to walk the extra way Ridgeway! Probably hundreds! And that not even counting the insects and wildlife itself!..."

Karen slowly stopped listening to Kyle but watched him instead. The way he moved his hands as he talked and the way his eyes lit up whenever he said the word 'animals' or spoke about helping them. Karen's frown deepened. She wished there was something she liked that much.

It took Karen a moment to notice that Kyle had stopped talking. She blinked at him, noticing his deep blush.

"S-sorry. When I start talking about being a vet I …really can't stop sometimes. Um, what do you want to be Karen?" He asked softly and Karen was slightly disappointed that he had turned back into 'Normal Kyle'. She liked 'Normal Kyle' but it was nice to see 'Happy Kyle' every once and a while.

"A trophy wife."

Kyle's eyes jerked from the floor up to her eyes in less than a second in Karen's opinion. His jaw slacked for a moment before he quickly closed it with a click. He stared at her before licking his lips.

"Really?" He asked as he stared at her. Karen nodded. "Um, why? If you don't mind me asking that is!" Kyle said quickly, his voice escaping in a quick gust of air. Karen blinked at him. Wasn't it obvious?

"Because I'm stupid." She deadpanned. Kyle's jaw dropped and he sputtered much like he usually did. Karen merely blinked at him, by now she was used to his slight awkwardness.

"You're not stupid Karen!" Kyle almost shouted as he stared at her in disbelief. Karen cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"But I am. More than the average kind of stupid." Karen said bluntly. "At least that's what Uncle Fred says." Karen was slightly confused. Kyle knew everything. How could he not know this? She thought it was just a general fact.

"B…but you're…" Kyle stutter pathetically for a few moments, eyes drifting over the room and narrowing at random points. Karen had realized that this was his 'thinking face' a while ago. He did it all the time in maths class and though Ms. Jenkin's thought he wasn't listening, he was always the one listening hardest in the room. He licked his lips before speaking. "What does you being…stupid…have to do with being a…a _trophy_ wife?" He asked carefully. The left corner of his mouth was twitching with effort and Karen knew he was trying not to say something. She was not particularly observant but whenever someone said something that was wrong or Ms. Jenkin's asked a question, Kyle would twitch like that. Most of the time he would only twitch for a few seconds before bursting out a correction or shooting his hand up in the air. However at the moment he seemed to be making a big effort not to say what he wanted to. Karen starred at him for a moment before she slowly began to ponder the question.

"Because I'm too stupid for most other jobs and I'm not good at much." Karen said casually. She thought over her answer and nodded to herself. That was the truth. She looked up to Kyle to see him twitching violently.

"Who told you that?" He asked sharply. Karen starred at him in confusion cocking her head to the side.

"Everybody." She stated matter-of-factly. Kyle's gave another violent twitch.

"Well it's not true. You're good at lots of stuff Karen. You make everyone happy and you ask the best questions. You make everyone feel important and good about themselves without even trying. You're nice, nicer than almost everyone else and you don't even seem to realize it. You've got the best imagination and you're the prettiest in our grade by far. All the other girls are always saying the want to be pretty like you but they can't because they're mean and you're nice which is why you will _always_ be prettier than them. You're like…like…some sort of …saint or Angel or something Karen! You treat everyone the same way, with the same kindness and though that might be because you don't exactly understand the situation that doesn't change the fact that it's…it's amazing. You're amazing Karen. And you're a great friend. My only friend. My best friend." Kyle blushed deeply as he said this but trudged on nonetheless. "And…and I _will not_ have my best friend calling herself stupid or aiming for an occupation as low as a _trophy wife_ just because she thinks she can't do better! I won't!"

Kyle panted for a few moments, blushing a darker shade of red every passing second. By the time he had caught his breath he was a deep crimson and staring determinedly at his shoes. Karen starred at him for a moment and felt a smile slowly creeping onto her face.

Karen had found something she liked more than Kyle liked animals. Or rather someone. Kyle.

"Thank you Kyle." Karen said softly, her voice chocked slightly with the happiness she was feeling. No one had ever _not_ thought she was stupid but her Daddy. Even her Mom thought doorknobs were smarter than her. "But…I don't think there's a job for that."

Kyle shyly raised his head to meet her eyes before quickly looking away, appearing completely flustered. However his eyes started to roam and narrow and before long they widened in realization.

"Drawing." He said slowly as he stared at a waste bin. He quickly turned to her apparently forgetting about his embarrassment. "Drawing! And Painting! You're really good at it Karen! You make really good pictures; you're the best in the class! If you had a couple of lessons then sure you could become an artist or something! Maybe you'll become famous! Maybe-" Kyle stopped short. "Maybe you could write children's books Karen! You have such a great imagination and the younger kids love you! And you could draw your own illustrations! I know you're not too good at spelling but that's what editors are for right? Or maybe you should use one of the skills you already have and become a model or something because you are…you know….really pretty Karen." He blushed slightly as he said this and after licking his lips once more he quickly changed the subject. "Or you could be my assistant! Vets don't usually have assistants but you could be the exception! And we could travel the world and rescue animals together! I'm sure they'd all love you Karen! Dexter loves you and he only met you that one time we walked home! And he's usually a very grumpy dog but he still adores you! Or maybe I should just open a clinic and you could be my secretary! People love you Karen and having you to greet them would probably be a breath of fresh air! Or…"

Karen stared in amazement as Kyle came up with job after job that she could do. Jobs that sounded like a lot more fun than being a trophy wife. She felt a small smile come on her lips as she listened to the options she never thought she had.


	4. Chapter 4

Karie.

Karen starred at Kyle as he babbled excitedly at all the animals they were sure to see when they got out of the reptile section and towards the marine park. They were at the zoo for the end of school year trip and they had officially been friends for a whole year. Karen had never had a friend that long. The most was usually a few weeks before her friend wanted to go play with someone else. They usually told her to 'wait right here!' before running off. Karen would always wait but they never came back. By the time both recess was over and the end of school bell rang Karen would eventually stop waiting and go home assuming they forgot. But when she went to talk to her friend the next day, they would only giggle and point at her before quickly running off. Karen didn't think she was that funny.

Karie.

She watched as Kyle excitedly tugged on her wrist, practically dragging her to the entrance of the marine park. His cheeks were flushed and his green blue eyes were lit up behind his newly repaired glasses. They didn't have the tape anymore. Karen missed it. She was sure it was lucky because if it weren't for those glasses, she and Kyle wouldn't have become friends. If it wasn't for that lucky tape-

He said it again.

Karie.

Karen silently allowed herself to be pulled down into the dark marine section that was only lit by strange bluish light that seemed to come through the water. She noticed immediately that the walls seemed to be made of water. She slowly reached out to touch one and was disappointed by the feel of glass underneath her fingers. She pouted slightly and turned back to Kyle and was surprised to see that he was staring at her. Karen was usually the one that starred. He had a small smile on his face while he starred and Karen felt her face heat up. Was she doing something funny?

But as fast as he started Kyle stopped starring at her and began to tell her the habitat and characteristics of the killer whale. She watched as he almost pressed his nose up to the glass wall in fascination. He really was a different person when talking about animals. On the bus he wouldn't even look up from his book and since other kids were there, he would only murmur the answers to Karen's questions. Even when they were coming into the zoo, Kyle had his head down in his book, though his cheeks were flushing slightly in anticipation. But when they came in and saw the giraffe, 'Happy Kyle' came out automatically. He became talkative, explaining to her why giraffes had such long necks and why they're tongues were purple. The kids in the class were surprised and Karen was happy. Someone other than herself had seen 'Happy Kyle' and how cool Kyle could be. As soon as Ms. Jenkin's said they were allowed to go off by themselves for a little bit, Kyle had dragged her to absolutely every exhibit he could find, talking about each animal they saw in detail. On the very few times he didn't know what an animal was or any information on it, he would hunt down a zoo employee and barrage them with questions. It was nice to see Kyle happy and Karen thought they should stay at the zoo all day, just to make Kyle smile a little longer. But they had to leave at 2:15, so here they were, at the last exhibit of the day so Karen decided to enjoy every minute of 'Happy Kyle'.

Karen turned away from Kyle right then and turned to the killer whale display. She flinched when she saw the large animal right in front of her, taking up almost all the space I front of her. She stared at its black and white slippery skin and her hands hesitantly touched the glass. She moved her face closer until she was staring into what she thought were its eyes.

"Hello…" She murmured softly as she stared at 'Stevie the Killer Whale!' as the sign proudly named him. Stevie almost seemed to smile at her and Karen could feel a small smile tugging on her lips. She took a step back in shock as she saw Stevie move a single eyelid down as if he were winking at her. Karen stared in shock for a moment. Stevie had winked at her. Her grin grew until it took up most of her face. A killer whale had _winked _at her!

She turned excitedly to Kyle, her eyes bright and shining.

"Did you see that Kyle? He winked at me! Me! I think he likes me!" She said breathlessly as she fixed herself firmly in front of the glass, staring affectionately at the large beast in front of her. Stevie almost looked amused and Karen's grin grew even more, to the point where it could have broken her face. In her excitement she missed the small fond smile Kyle was giving her as she grinned madly at the whale. His smile broke into a grin when she began cooing softly at the animal and before long he was chuckling softly to himself.

"Would like some ice cream Karen?"

Karen looked up from Stevie to see Kyle smiling at her. She smiled back and nodded, shifting through the purse her mum had made her bring for the money she had been given. Pulling out a five dollar bill she carefully placed it in Kyle's palm. Kyle's fingers slowly closed around the bill as he starred at his hand in thought. He reopened his hand and placed the bill back in Karen's. He closed her fingers over the crumpled bill with a soft smile. "My treat Karie. I'll be right back so wait right here."

Karie.

Karen felt here heart clench in happiness as Kyle walked away. Turning to Stevie she grinned wildly at the whale.

"Did you hear that Stevie? Karie!" Karen's grin grew as the whale seemed to share her excitement. She smiled affectionately at him before Kyle's words properly registered.

Wait right here.

Karen turned towards the direction Kyle had gone in alarm. Here wide eyes searched the crowd but he was nowhere to be seen. She licked her lips and craned her neck to see over the crowd but she couldn't see his blonde hair anywhere. Karen eyes began to fill with tears as she stared in the direction her first real friend had gone. Her best friend.

Wait right here.

He wasn't coming back.

Karen slowly began to crouch onto the floor. She sat there in disbelief for a few moments before she gave feeble sniff. Stupid. She was so stupid. This always happened. So why was she crying? She should know that this was going to happen. So why.

Karen gave a small hiccup as she sat on the floor, her arms wrapping around her legs. She rubbed her eyes into her knees until she began to see stars.

Karie.

She sniffled loudly as she thought of her Daddy, the only one to ever call her that except Kyle.

_I'll be right back Karie-Bear so stay right here and wait for Daddy. Do you understand? Daddy will be right back so don't cry sweetheart. I'm just going to drive around the corner and get some milk so stay right here and wait for me. Can you do that Karie-Bear? I want to see you smiling when I get back y'hear?_

He never came back. He couldn't come back. Cause dead people can't drive. But Karen didn't know that. So she waited. And waited.

But Karen was tired of waiting for everyone to come back when she knew they weren't.

So Karen sat there for who knows how long and cried. Cried for her daddy. Cried for the loss of her first friend. She cried for herself. She sat and sniffled and hiccupped, ignoring the kind adults who asked if she was okay. She wasn't supposed to talk to strangers after all. Karen started to wonder if a person could run out of tears and actually opened her mouth to ask Kyle the question but the only thing that came out was a soft sob.

He wasn't coming back.

"Karen?"

Karen looked up abruptly, starring wide eyed at Kyle in all his messy-haired-blue-green-eyed glory. He looked slightly startled and thoroughly worried as he looked at her but Karen couldn't stop starring. Kyle had two vanilla ice cream cones in his hands and he held them close to his body as if to protect them. He had a little bit of ice cream dripping messily onto his shirt but he didn't seem to care. Kyle quickly and awkwardly began to sit down, trying to keep the ice creams out of harm's way. When he was finally sitting, though in a totally uncomfortable looking position, he turned to her.

"What's wrong Karen?" He asked softly as he attempted to hand her the ice cream. Karen took it, offering him a watery smile. She slowly began to lick the half melting ice cream and was surprised that it was slightly salty before remembering her tears from earlier. "Did somebody pick on you? Did you hurt yourself?"

Karen continued to quietly lick her ice cream. Her eyes roamed over Kyle in slight shock. Kyle gave a small sigh, licking his dripping ice cream before turning back to her.

"If you don't tell me what's wrong then I can't help you Karie."

That's what did it for Karen. She began crying again in earnest, much to Kyle's shock. She clutched her ice cream cone in both hands as she sobs wracked though her body. She hiccupped when Kyle slowly began to rub circles on her back to calm her down. Soon his hand moved from her back to her hair, patting her like she was a cat. Karen laughed though it came out watery and sad sounding. She leaned into his touch and quietly began to berate herself.

She was so silly.

Karen sobs died down slowly but before long she was had resulted to only sniffling every few moments. Somehow her head had ended up on Kyle's shoulder but Karen wasn't complaining. Kyle smelt nice, like soap and ice cream and grass. She let her eyelids droop for a moment, enjoying Kyle's petting and his comforting smell before she got off of him and took a shaky breath to settle herself. After a few more sniffs, Karen nodded to herself. She was okay. She began to lick her ice cream once again. Starring at the air in front of her face as she thought about how completely ridiculous she was being to think that Kyle would leave her all alone in the zoo. He would probably come back to help her get to the bus stop if anything, since he knew how easily she got lost.

" Karen?"

Karen stopped licking her ice cream to look questioningly at Kyle who had a worried expression on his face. She was startled to see a large wet mark on his shoulder and automatically lifted the hem of her dress to try and rub out the stain as she apologized profusely. Kyle looked like he was going to speak before her glanced down and blushed deep red. He gapped for a few moments, mouth opening and closing like a fish before he grabbed her the skirt of her dress from her hand and placed it firmly onto her lap. Karen watched him in confusion as he looked frantically around at the crowd of people. After he was apparently satisfied he turned back to her, licking his lips before he spoke.

"Karie…you just can't lift your skirt like that." He whispered softly as his eyes flitted between her and the people passing by. Karen's head cocked gently to the side.

"Why not?" She asked as she took another lick of her ice cream. She began to gently rub at the wet stain on Kyle's shirt with her hand though she was not sure if it would help.

"B-because people can see your underwear!" Kyle said quickly as he stared at a particularly large man who seemed to be starring their way. Karen turned to look at the guy as well, slightly confused. The man was round and chubby and his face was flushed as he stared open mouthed at the two of them. Kyle's eyes narrowed as he gently pulled on Karen's arm. Karen scooted over obediently until she was so close to Kyle that she was almost in his lap. All the while Kyle glared at the man. The guy let out what seemed to be a frustrated sigh as he turned and walked off. As soon as he left Kyle seemed to deflate, a sigh of relief escaping his lips. "I don't know what I'd do if he came over here…" Kyle said quietly as he starred after the guy. He only relaxed when the man was successfully out of sight. "You see Karen, if you show people your underwear people like that man will try to…do things to you. They might even try to take you. That's why you have to be careful okay?" Kyle stared worriedly at her for a few moments before Karen nodded. His eyes lit up slightly and he smiled before his face became sullen again. "Karen why were you crying? Was anyone bothering you? Did something happen when I left or was it something I-"

"It's okay now Kyle. I was just being silly." Karen said softly. She watched as Kyle's eyebrows furrowed in worry.

"But-"

"You called me Karie." She said softly. Kyle seemed to stiffen for a moment before the color rushed to his face. He gapped for a few moments, mouth opening and closing silently.

"I-I-I-I…s-sorry I-I didn't…i-it just…sorta came out…" Kyle was staring at the floor his ears turning a deep red. Karen smiled at Kyle as she gently brushed his ear with her fingers. That got his attention immediately as his head shot up and he turned to gape at her once more. Karen only smiled again as she gently brushed his long bangs from his eyes.

"I like it." she said softly. It was true. If anyone were to ever call her Karie again after Daddy she wanted it to be Kyle. She liked Kyle. He was her friend and he didn't leave her like everyone else. "You can call me Karie if you want." She said softly. Kyle starred at her for a moment before smiling.

"Alright," He said just as softly as she had. His smile grew slightly and he said as an afterthought. "Karie."

Karen smiled and gave her by now soppy ice cream a lick. Yes. If anyone it definitely had to be Kyle.


End file.
